📊 POSCO Holdings: A Surprise Third-Quarter Performance and a Shareholder Return Plan - 2026.11.02

Well now, shall we start with the earnings today? I’m Onion, and after watching the markets for 30 years, I’ve been waiting for a day like this. The phrase “surprise performance” has come up for the third quarter on a consolidated basis, so let’s dig into the numbers together first. 📊

Where did the third-quarter surprise come from?

Well, well~ The third-quarter consolidated results were described as a “surprise performance,” with the added momentum of improvement for three consecutive quarters ^[1]. In other words, it wasn’t just a one-off spike. Operating profit rose 48% to 945,000,000,000 KRW, with a recovery in steel profitability cited as the main reason ^[2]. Among its overseas steel affiliates, Indonesia’s PT.Krakatau POSCO and Vietnam’s PY VINA also reportedly improved their results ^[2].

My take is that this isn’t just one part of the steel business doing better. The core operation is gaining strength, and the affiliates around it are breathing easier too. That’s exactly it! 🔥

They’ve also played the shareholder-return card

Here’s the interesting part: the company isn’t just letting its cash pile up. It announced plans to use 10% of 2,500,000,000,000 KRW in funds secured to buy back and cancel treasury shares by year-end ^[3]. We can confirm that the company made this plan public, but no one can say for certain what effect it will have on the share price. Still, it’s worth watching as a signal of shareholder returns. When a company talks about buybacks alongside strong earnings, the market tends to prick up its ears ☕

Still, lithium is feeling the chill

Good news alone would be no fun~ As the lithium price slump drags on, key battery-material stocks have diverged amid a broader decline. The article reported that POSCO Holdings fell alongside EcoPro ^[4]. An October 30 article also reflected a mood of weighing the steel and secondary-battery industries together ^[5]. They say silence is golden, but with lithium, the silence is just dragging on—so far, it’s brought sighs rather than gold. Let me toss in a cheesy dad joke and move on. 😅

With steel smiling while lithium cries, the key variable seems to be how the two will find balance within one company.

Onion’s next checkpoints

Onion thinks the bullish scenario is still very much alive if the recovery in steel and shareholder returns go hand in hand. However, the articles haven’t confirmed where lithium prices might turn, so that remains an open question. Earnings are shining, but the battery side is under cloudy skies; the key is which outlook the market will give more weight to. 🚀

So here’s the one thing I’m curious about: would you look at the signals from steel first, or lithium?

📰 Reference News (5)

2

POSCO Holdings’ third-quarter operating profit rises 48% to 945,000,000,000 KRW… steel profitability recovers

네이버뉴스 · 2026.11.02

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4

Will the lithium price slump persist?… Key battery-material stocks diverge amid declines

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.30

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5

POSCO Holdings falls 1.27% to 272,000 KRW… weighing steel and secondary-battery industry conditions - JOBPOST

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.30

📰 View original